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MASSACHUSETTS 

AGRICULTURAL 

COLLEGE 


SOURC 


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This  book  may  be  kept  out 

TWO    WEEKS 

only,  and  is  subject  to  a  fine  of  TWO 
CENTS  a  day  thereafter.  It  will  be  due 
on  the  dav  indicated  below. 


f  oTi 


Choosing  an  Orchard 


by 


C.  I.  LEWIS,  M.  S.  A. 

Chief  Division  of  Horticulture,  Oregon  Agricultural  College  and  Experiment 
Station,  Corvallis,  Oregon. 


written  specially  for  use  in  the 


Pacific 


Horticultural  Correspondence 


School 

Orenco,   Oregon 


PACIFIC   HORTICULTURAL  CORRESPONDENCE   SCHOOL 


Table  of  Contents 


Pase 

Natural  fruit  areas 4,  5 

Climate 5,  7 

Rainfall  and  moisture 7 

Frost 8 

Winds 9 

Altitude : 9 

Exposure 10 

Influence  of  large  bodies  of  water  11 

Natural  vegetation 11 

Drainage 12 

Depth  of  soil 13 

Fertility 13 


Page 

Character  of  soil 13, 17 

Sub-soils 17 

Hints  on  choosing  orchards  west  of 

Cascades  and  "Inland  Empire"      18 
Special  Crop  Requirements — 

Apples 19,  20,21 

Pears 21,  22 

Cherries 22 

Apricots --      23 

Almonds 23 

Prunes 23 

Grapes 24 


Suggestions  for  Study. 

Read  carefully  each  chapter  or  paragraph  to  find  points  treated — then  return 
and  carefully  study  several  times  the  important  points  to  fix  them  in  your  mem- 
ory, with  the  object  of  taking  the  examinations  later. 

Marking  passages  of  special  interest  to  you  will  enable  you  to  refer  to  them 
easily  and  helps  to  fix  them  in  your  memory. 

The  italics  in  this  article  are  by  the  principal  and  are  intended  to  call  special 
attention  to  these  passages,  which  should  be  carefully  studied  as  an  aid  in  ex- 
aminations and  to  fix  these  points  in  the  memory. 


Copyright,  1915, 

By  Pacific  Horticultural  Correspondence  School. 

All  Rights  Reserved 


Im— 615 


Choosing  an  Orchard. 

By  C.  I.  Lewis,  Horticulturist,  Oregon  Agricultural  College. 

How  to  choose  an  orchard  is  one  of  the  most  perplexing  prob- 
lems we  have  in  horticulture  and  the  traveller  who  comes  to  our 
Northwest  country  seeking  an  investment  in  fruit  land  easily  be- 
comes bewildered.  He  travels  from  one  region  to  another  only  to 
be  told  in  each  locality  that  they  have  the  best  and  often  the  only 
fruit  district  to  be  found.  He  is  told  many  stories  concerning  soils, 
climate,  etc.,  and  is  often  impressed  strongly  with  the  statement 
that  unless  he  will  close  up  on  a  certain  deal  within  a  few  hours  he 
is  losing  an  investment  which  cannot  be  duplicated. 

The  average  man  in  buying  an  orchard  is  apt  to  make  several 
very  serious  mistakes,  the  first  of  which  is  that  he  often  buys  too 
soon.  I  have  known  of  people  coming  into  a  certain  section  at  noon 
and  by  nightfall  having  bought  up  a  tract  of  land.  This  is  a  very 
foolish  procedure.  There  is  lots  of  very  good  fruit  land  in  the  states 
of  Washington,  Oregon  and  Idaho,  and  of  course  there  is  lots  of 
poor  land,  but  these  states  are  so  large  that  one  can  get  a  good  in- 
vestment any  day  in  the  year,  and  the  wise  man  will  go  at  the  mat- 
ter leisurely.  He  will  take  time  to  look  at  all  phases  of  the  ques- 
tion and  under  no  circumstances  will  he  buy  land  he  has  not  seen. 
The  possible  exception  to  this  might  be  that  some  friend  in  whom 
he  has  explicit  confidence  is  vouching  for  the  piece  of  land  in  ques- 
tion. 

A  soil  analysis  often  leads  a  man  astray.  He  feels  that  if  an 
analysis  can  be  procured  and  it  shows  a  certain  amount  of  plant 
food  he  is  assured  it  is  a  good  piece  of  land,  and  a  Kttle  later  he  will 
find  this  may  mean  much  or  very  little. 

Before  planting  an  orchard  there  are  two  points  we  should 
clearly  understand:  First,  we  should  take  steps  to  find  out  what 
the  piece  of  land  we  have  in  mind  is  peculiarly  adapted  to;  or,  sec- 
ondly, we  should  hunt  a  location  which  is  especially  adapted  to  the 
crop  we  have  in  mind.  Often  we  find  pears  planted  where  apples 
should  be  grown,  cherries  are  planted  on  apple  land,  peaches 
planted  on  prune  land,  etc.  The  real  test  of  any  orchard  location  is 
the  crop,  and  a  piece  of  land  is  only  worth  what  it  will  produce.  Un- 


4  PACIFIC   HORTICULTURAL  CORRESPONDENCE   SCHOOL 

less  it  will  produce  a  mature  tree  and  one  which  is  productive  the 
land  will  be  worth  very  little  as  far  as  fruit  growing  is  concerned. 
Many  people  are  mislead  by  the  appearance  of  young  trees.  I  have 
seen  some  splendid  looking  orchards  on  very  thin  soil.  Often  they 
will  grow  fairly  well  on  soil  with  poor  drainage,  but  in  order  to  pro- 
duce a  good,  mature,  heavy  bearing  tree,  you  should  have  proper 
conditions— above  all  this  will  mean  that  you  must  have  deep  soil. 

Natural  Fruit  Areas. 
In  travelling  over  the  world  we  find  that  nature  has  adapted 
certain  regions  for  certain  crops.  As  we  ride  in  the  train  across  the 
Mississippi  Valley  and  see  the  alfalfa  fields,  the  corn  fields,  the  fine 
herds  of  cattle  and  the  droves  of  hogs,  we  can  see  that  nature  has 
produced  conditions  which  are  favorable  to  such  agriculture.  In 
travelling  through  the  South  we  find  the  cotton,  when  we  get  into 
Florida  we  find  the  pineapple  and  the  citrus  fruits,  in  the  vicinity 
of  the  great  lakes  and  northern  New  York  and  the  Niagara  penin- 
sula of  Canada  we  find  a  large  fruit  belt  where  tremendous  areas 
of  peaches,  apples,  grapes,  etc.,  are  succeeding.  If  we  cross  the 
ocean  and  go  to  the  Mediterranean  we  find  in  Italy,  Greece  and 
Spain  conditions  which  fit  them  for  producing  fruit.  And  so  all 
around  the  world  we  find  that  it  is  ever  true  that  a  certain  crop  is 
developed  either  because  nature  has  met  the  special  requirements 
of  these  crops  or  else  that  the  people  have  been  very  persevering. 
The  state  of  Maine,  for  example,  has  built  up  an  enviable  reputa- 
tion for  sweet  corn  and  its  canned  product  is  bringing  the  highest 
price.  No  one  would  pick  out  Maine  as  a  natural  corn  state  and  in 
order  to  grow  corn  there,  intensive  and  careful  methods  must  be 
followed,  but  the  people  have  been  spurred  on  to  their  best  endeav- 
ors and  as  a  result  the  state  has  built  up  its  reputation  as  a  corn 
producing  state.  On  our  own  Pacific  Coast  the  traveller  will  easily 
determine  that  southern  California  is  peculiarly  adapted  for  the 
production  of  citrus  fruit,  and  coming  into  our  Northwest  we  find 
the  great  Columbia  basin,  including  the  Columbia  river,  with  its 
tributaries,  like  the  Snake  and  the  Willamette,  where  nature  has 
been  very  kind  and  produced  climatic  and  soil  conditions  that  are 
unusually  favorable  to  the  production  of  deciduous  fruit.  Added  to 
this  region  we  would  have  to  include  other  valleys  like  the  Umpqua, 
Rogue  River  and  others  which  might  be  mentioned.  The  fruits 
grown  in  this  region  are  of  the  highest  color  and  superb  quality,  of 


NATURAL  FRUIT  AREAS— CLIMATE  5 

unmatched  size  and  attractive  form.  In  addition  to  this,  these 
regions  seem  to  have  the  advantage  on  the  whole  of  producing 
trees  which  come  into  bearing  early  and  bear  heavily  and  regularly. 
These  are  the  conditions  which  mean  profitable  horticulture  and 
larger  returns  can  be  obtained  from  horticulture  than  from  any  other 
phase  of  agriculture,  provided  the  conditions  are  right.  Where  the 
climatic  and  soil  conditions  are  not  right  for  horticulture  it  will  be 
much  better  judgment  to  go  into  other  lines  of  agriculture.  There 
are,  however,  few  varieties  of  deciduous  fruit  which  cannot  be 
grown  to  the  highest  degree  of  perfection  in  the  Pacific  Northwest. 
One  easily  realizes  this  when  they  stop  to  investigate  our  natural 
conditions.  With  elevations  ranging  from  sea-level  to  the  snow  line 
and  rainfall  from  100  inches  to  4  or  5  inches,  with  soils  ranging 
from  the  heaviest  adobe  to  the  lightest  volcanic  ash  and  pumice 
stone,  one  easily  sees  we  have  the  extreme  of  conditions,  which 
means  that  in  almost  every  fruit  region  we  can  find  the  require- 
ments fulfilled  that  certain  varieties  demand. 

What  are  the  points  for  us  to  consider  in  choosing  an  orchard? 
I  would  say  that  they  are  a  combination  of  the  following:  Climate, 
altitude,  exposure,  soil,  transportation  facilities,  area  devoted  to  the 
fruit  industry  or  the  amount  of  land  which  can  be  devoted  to  such 
industry  and  the  class  of  people  engaged  in  horticultural  pursuits. 

Climate. 

If  there  is  one  factor  which  is  of  more  importance  than  another 
in  choosing  an  orchard  it  is  climate.  This  will  surprise  some  people 
as  they  are  apt  to  believe  that  soil  is  the  only  factor,  yet  if  this  is 
true  we  would  find  many  fruits  grown  commercially  where  they  are 
not.  There  are  some  varieties  of  fruit  which  seem  to  have  a  very 
wide  range  as  they  are  not  so  exacting  in  their  requirements  as 
other  varieties.  The  Rome  Beauty  apple,  the  Bartlett  pear,  the 
Concord  grape  may  be  mentioned  as  typical  varieties  which  have  a 
wide  range  of  adaptability.  On  the  other  hand  there  are  varieties 
which  are  very  narrow  in  their  adaptabihty  and  are  easily  changed 
from  a  winter  to  a  summer  variety,  or  from  a  summer  to  a  late  fall 
or  even  to  an  early  winter  variety  by  certain  climatic  conditions. 

In  noting  the  adaptability  of  fruits  in  our  Pacific  Northwest  we 
are  finding  rapidly  that  our  varieties  are  succeeding  best  where  the 
climatic  conditions  seem  to  come  nearer  fulfilling  the  conditions  in 
which  the  variety  originated,  or  at  least  is  grown  to  a  high  degree 


6  PACIFIC  HORTICULTURAL  CORRESPONDENCE  SCHOOL 

of  perfection  in  Eastern  localities.    If  you  will  but  take  the  pains  to 
study  the  catalog  of  fruits  of  the  American  Pomological  Society  and 
note  their  recommendations  for  certain  regions  of  the  United  States 
and  then  in  addition  will  look  carefully  into  the  climatic  conditions 
surrounding  the  production  of  certain  varieties,  you  will  see  the 
close  connection  which  exists  in  such  cases.      The  Massachusetts 
Agricultural  College  Experiment  Station  has  been  doing  some  spec- 
ial investigation  concerning  the  adaptability  of  varieties  to  places 
in  Massachusetts  and  have  found  that  the  mean  temperature  in 
summer,  for  example,  has  a  lot  to  do  with  the  varieties  that  suc- 
ceed, and  if  only  a  certain  degree  of  warmth  is  produced  certain 
varieties  will  not  succeed  and  grow  well.      We  find  on  our  own 
Pacific  coast  that  the  Winesap,  which  does  so  well  in  Wenatchee,  or 
the  Jonathan,  which  does  so  well  in  most  of  the  "Inland  Empire," 
are  splendid  examples  as  far  as  climatic  conditions  are  concerned. 
The  Spitzenberg  apple  originated  along  the  Hudson  River — it  does 
not  do  well  in  western  New  York  but  in  regions  having  conditions 
resembling  those  found  in  the  Hudson  River  valley  it  does  better. 
When  we  get  this  apple  in  the  Hood  River,  Rogue  River  and  other 
parts  of  Oregon  it  grows  to  high  perfection,  but  in  certain  regions 
of  the   "Inland  Empire"   where  the  mean  temperature  will  run 
higher,  we  find  the  Spitzenberg  matures  much  earlier  and  is  prob- 
ably at  its  best  at  Thanksgiving  instead  of  by  Christmas  or  January. 
In  the  region  west  of  the  Cascades  and  in  the  valleys  of  the  Cascade 
Range  the  Gravenstein  becomes  a  fall  apple,  but  when  it  is  grown 
at  an  elevation  of  3000  to  4000  feet  in  the  "Inland  Empire"  it  be- 
comes a  winter  apple.     The  Northern  Spy  and  Baldwin  apple  seem 
to  do  especially  well  in  such  regions  as  western  New  York  but  in 
many  regions  they  mature  too  early.     In  many  parts  of  the  north- 
west they  become  a  fall  apple,   are  apt  to  be  mealy  and  of  poor 
quality.     This  is  especially  true  when  they  are  grown  at  low  ele- 
vations, but  on  higher  elevations  they  are  much  better  keepers  and 
more  juicy,  and  so  we  can  cite  many  cases  showing  the  great  im- 
portance of  climatic  conditions   to  variety  adaptability.     So  it  can 
be  seen  that  if  one  has  in  mind  the  growing  of  certain  varieties  of 
fruit  he  must  look  carefully  into  climatic  conditions.      Our  north- 
west is  so  large  that  it  will  be  some  time  before  we  will  know  defi- 
nitely the  best  varieties  to  grow  in  all  cases.      Undoubtedly  many 
regions  have  made  a  mistake  in  trying  to  decide  too  soon  the  vari- 
ety of  fruit  their  region  is  best  adapted  to,   and  while  we  do  not 


RAINFALL  AND  MOISTURE  7 

want  to  go  back  and  make  the  mistake  of  having  every  orchard  a 
pomological  collection,  I  believe  that  the  northwest  as  a  whole  should 
grow  more  varieties  of  fruit  than  they  are  growing  at  the  present 
time  commercially. 

In  considering  climate  we  should  divide  it  under  several  heads. 
First,  on  temperature  I  have  already  related  the  importance  of 
mean  and  at  times  extreme  temperature  of  summer  and  fall  in 
bringing  on  the  maturity  of  certain  varieties.  In  connection  with 
the  temperature  we  have  to  consider  the  length  of  the  growing 
season.  Some  regions  have  a  long  growing  season  and  these  regions 
produce  fall  and  winter  apples  to  perfection.  Other  regions  have 
a  short  growing  season  and  are  adapted  to  summer,  fall  and  pos- 
sibly early  winter  varieties.  In  considering  the  question  of  tem- 
perature we  must  also  take  notice  of  the  winter  temperatures. 
Fortunately,  the  greater  part  of  our  northwest  country  is  not  sub- 
ject to  extreme  winter  conditions.  Occasionally  we  have  winter 
injury  which  is  caused  by  dry  air  and  soil  conditions.  Some  vari- 
eties will  not  withstand  the  lowest  winter  temperatures  and  will 
have  to  be  eradicated  on  that  account. 

Rainfall  and  Moisture. 

Under  climate  we  must  also  consider  rainfall  and  moisture  de- 
terminant and  this  is  undoubtedly  one  of  the  most  important  fac- 
tors determining  whether  we  can  grow  certain  varieties  to  a  high 
degree  of  perfection  and  is  of  great  importance  on  the  Pacific  coast 
where  we  have  a  wet  and  dry  season.  The  climatic  conditions  must 
be  such,  coupled  with  the  soil  conditions,  that  enough  moisture  can 
be  retained  to  maintain  the  fruit  to  maturity  or  if  sufficient  rainfall 
is  i:iot  present  that  irrigation  is  feasible.  I  very  much  doubt  the  ad- 
visability of  growing  apples  where  the  rainfall  is  15  inches  or  less 
and  irrigation  is  impossible.  Prunes,  cherries  and  peaches  do  not 
require  as  much  moisture  as  the  apple.  Winter  apples  and  pears 
require  more  moisture  than  summer  or  fall  varieties.  If  an  apple, 
for  example,  suffers  from  lack  of  moisture,  it  is  dull  in  color,  apt 
to  be  flat  in  shape  and  to  have  a  large  percentage  of  drop.  On  the 
other  hand  if  an  abundance  of  moisture  is  present  the  apple  is  a 
bright  color,  more  elongated,  grows  to  a  larger  size  and  is  less  lia- 
ble to  drop.  Thus  we  see  how  very  important  it  is  to  have  suflScient 
moisture. 

The  greater  part  of  the  rainfall  in  our  own  northwest  occurs 


8  PACIFIC  HORTICULTURAL  CORRESPONDENCE  SCHOOL 

during  the  winter  months  and  consequently  the  summer  months 
which  comprise  the  principal  growing  season  are  apt  to  have  very 
httle  rain.  Nearly  all  sections  of  the  northwest  have  a  dry  atmo- 
sphere in  summer.  Often  in  referring  to  the  region  west  of  the 
Cascades  people  are  led  to  believe  it  is  a  region  of  perpetual  showers 
and  humidity,  whereas  during  the  summer  or  growing  season  rains 
are  very  rare.  The  absence  of  rains  during  the  growing  seasons 
are  in  some  cases  a  blessing  as  it  gives  a  drier  atmosphere  with  an 
abundance  of  sunshine,  which  help  to  produce  splendid  fruit  with 
the  highest  color.  Rain  in  June  or  September  at  times  is  considered 
a  drawback  to  prune  and  cherry  production.  This  will  be  treated 
in  more  detail  a  little  later. 

Frost. 

Frost  must  be  considered  as  coming  under  climatic  conditions 
and  while  the  northwest  as  a  whole  is  free  from  frost,  we  do  have 
places  in  practically  every  valley  which  is  susceptible  to  frost,  and 
while  it  is  possible  in  many  cases  to  protect  orchards  by  heating 
and  smudging  it  is  probably  better  on  the  whole  to  choose  a  site 
which  does  not  need  such  treatment,  and  while  it  is  true  that  de- 
ciduous fruits  are  apt  to  develop  better  in  regions  more  or  less  sus- 
ceptible to  frost,  one  must  not  be  mislead  by  this  statement.  It 
does  not  mean  you  should  choose  land  subject  to  frost,  but  get  it 
as  free  from  frost  as  possible.  The  gently  rolling  lands  are  best. 
Frosts  are  often  very  damaging  at  the  immediate  foot  of  high  hills 
or  mountains  or  in  draws  or  pockets  where  the  cold  air  can  settle. 
Some  canons  are  free  from  frost  while  others  catch  the  cold  air 
and  it  becomes  almost  impossible  to  grow  fruit  successfully.  It  is 
also  possible  to  get  at  such  high  altitudes  that  frost  is  possible  any 
month  of  the  year.  In  such  cases  no  matter  how  good  the  soil  and 
other  conditions  may  be  it  would  be  absolutely  useless  to  attempt 
to  grow  many  varieties  of  fruit.  On  some  higher  altitudes  where 
canons  are  present  breezes  occur  in  the  night-time,  this  is  especially 
true  in  Utah,  parts  of  eastern  Oregon  and  even  some  parts  of  west- 
ern Oregon,  where  the  changes  of  air  will  produce  such  rapid  cir- 
culation that  an  orchard  has  splendid  protection  against  frost.  I 
know  of  one  fruit  orchard  in  the  state  which  has  had  twelve  crops 
without  a  failure,  and  a  very  short  distance  away  is  another  which 
very  seldom  gets  a  crop.  The  soil  conditions  of  the  two  orchards 
are  practically  identical,  the  only  difference  being  that  the  first  or- 


WINDS— ALTITUDE  9 

chard  mentioned  is  so  situated  in  relation  to  the  canon  that  it  gets 
a  full  air  circulation  which  does  not  reach  the  second  orchard. 

Winds 

Prevailing  winds  are  often  important  factors  in  fruit  production. 
In  many  regions  west  of  the  Cascade  Mts.  ocean  winds  prevail  in 
the  afternoon,  which  means  cool  nights  and' a  long,  slow  growing 
season  which  is  peculiarly  adapted  for  producing  perfect  fruit.  On 
the  other  hand  winds  may  become  so  strong  that  they  interfere  with 
the  production  of  fruit. 

Several  classes  of  wind  are  important:  Those  directly  from 
the  ocean  which  we  find  along  our  coast  and  which  interfere  with 
the  pollination  of  the  blossoms  and  there  are  the  hot,  dry  winds  of 
the  "Inland  Empire"  which  carry  with  them  particles  of  soil  and 
make  it  very  hard  at  times  to  grow  certain  types  of  fruit  success- 
fully. There  is  often  a  relation  between  prevailing  winds  and  sum- 
mer and  winter  temperatures  and  freedom  from  frost.  Where  ex- 
treme cold  weather  occurs  in  conjunction  with  high  winds  it  is  not 
uncommon  to  note  that  trees  are  injured  on  the  windward  side, 
whereas  trees  which  are  protected  from  these  same  winds  come 
through  the  winter  very  nicely.  Prevailing  winds  may  also  be  so 
strong  as  to  cause  dropping  of  the  fruit.  However,  wind  is  not 
very  important' with  us  in  the  northwest  as  a  whole,  but  in  certain 
limited  areas  it  is  an  important  factor  and  worth  looking  into. 

Altitude 
There  is  a  very  close  relation  between  altitude  and  climate.  As 
we  go  higher  we  find  the  condition  one  gets  by  going  farther  north 
and  we  soon  reach  a  point  in  the  vicinity  of  the  snow-line  where  it 
would  be  so  frosty  and  winter  conditions  so  severe  that  it  would  be 
impossible  to  grow  fruit  successfully.  In  the  higher  altitudes  the 
growing  season  is  shorter  and  varieties  must  be  chosen  which  will 
mature  in  a  shorter  season.  I  have  known,  however,  of  varieties 
maturing  somewhat  earlier  on  the  higher  altitudes  than  on  the  cor- 
responding lower  ones.  But  this  was  where  the  higher  soil  was 
very  light,  whereas  the  soil  of  the  lower  altitude  was  of  a  heavy  a- 
dobe.  Where  other  natural  conditions  are  equal  the  growing  season 
in  the  higher  altitudes  is  shorter.  It  might,  however,  have  a  tend- 
ency to  produce  a  certain  variety  better  than  a  given  lower  altitude. 
Referring  to  our  Spitzenberg  case  again,  if  the  soil  at  the  lower  al- 
titude had  been  heavy  the  Spitzenberg  would  probably  have  ma- 


10  PACIFIC  HORTICULTURAL  CORRESPONDENCE   SCHOOL 

tured  a  little  later  thus  being  thrown  more  into  its  correct  season. 
The  altitude  will  probably  have  an  influence  on  prune  and  cherry- 
production.  There  is  a  possibility  that  one  can  secure  the  right  al- 
titude relations  so  that  Royal  Ann  can  be  grown  with  very  little 
cracking.  If  they  are  of  a  certain  maturity  and  a  heavy  rain  occurs 
cracking  takes  place  and  the  loss  is  heavy.  If  the  rain  comes  in 
the  fall  when  the  fruit  is  mature  there  is  apt  to  be  a  heavy  loss  in 
prunes.  The  Experiment  Station  at  present  is  investigating  prune 
and  cherry  adaptability  with  regard  to  altitude  and  climatic  con- 
ditions. 

Exposure. 

In  many  parts  of  the  country  this  seems  to  become  an  important 
factor  and  many  older  writers  especially,  have  gone  into  it  in  great 
detail.  For  the  greater  part  we  find  that  exposure  does  not  mean 
very  much  in  the  northwest.  There  are  a  few  exceptions,  however; 
for  example,  west  of  the  Cascade  Mts.  the  hill  lands  with  a  south- 
erly exposure  are  apt  to  be  thin,  the  prevailing  winds  and  storms 
for  centuries  probably  having  a  bearing  on  this.  One  finds  on  these 
exposures  that  the  natural  vegetation  is  poor  and  will  only  produce 
a  few  months  pasture  and  is  rarely  adapted  to  fruits.  Some  may 
grow  cherries  and  prunes  and  possibly  grapes,  and  in  a  very  few 
cases  apples  and  pears  would  succeed.  We  find  the  southern  is  a 
warm  exposure  required  by  grapes  to  mature  well  in  the  fall.  If 
the  grape  is  to  develop  the  highest  amount  of  sugar  it  must  have 
as  much  warmth  as  possible  during  the  ripening  period. 

We  find  these  same  hills  which  I  have  mentioned,  thin  on  the 
southern  exposure,  running  deep  on  the  northern  and  eastern  ex- 
posures. In  certain  instances  we  find  easterly  exposures  a  draw- 
back, this  is  especially  true  in  hilly  sections  where  frosts  occur  and 
the  early  morning  sun  strikes  the  trees  before  the  frost  has  thawed. 
Under  such  conditions  the  damage  is  great.  During  1911-12  we 
found  some  splendid  examples  of  this  condition.  Where  the  orchards 
had  been  shaded  by  trees  or  hills  the  damage  had  been  practically 
little  or  nothing.  The  southern  exposure  is  used  for  early  maturity. 
Occasionally  it  has  its  drawbacks  however.  If  the  soil  is  light  and 
warm  and  especially  if  it  is  plowed  early  so  that  the  trees  can  start 
into  activity,  such  exposure  may  mean  the  trees  will  get  sunscald, 
especially  is  this  true  when  we  have  a  warm  March  or  April,  fol- 
lowed by  a  cold  month,  or  where  it  is  warm  in  the  middle  of  the 
day  and  the  nights  are  cold.     Cherries  are  apt  to  suffer  from  gum- 


INFLUENCE  OF  LARGE  BODIES  OF  WATER — NATURAL  VEGETATION  '  11 

osis  and  apples  and  pears  from  sunscald  or  other  such  injuries.  It 
would  be  better  in  such  cases  to  plant  varieties  of  fruit  which  nat- 
urally come  into  bloom  and  activity  a  little  later. 

Influence  of  Large  Bodies  of  Water. 

Large  bodies  of  water  have  an  influence  on  the  climate,  tending 
to  make  more  equitable  conditions.  We  do  not  find  as  much  frost 
or  quite  so  many  extremes  of  winter  conditions  in  their  vicinity. 
The  great  fruit  region  adjacent  to  our  great  lakes  nicely  illustrates 
this.  Here  in  Oregon  the  Columbia  River  and  its  tributaries  un- 
doubtedly has  an  influence  and  and  in  central  Oregon  Goose  and 
Summer  Lakes  having  such  an  influence  that  it  has  made  fruit 
growing  successful  there,  where  otherwise  it  might  be  a  failure. 

Natural  Vegetation. 

The  question  is  often  asked  of  what  indication  the  natural  veg- 
etation on  a  piece  of  land  is,  as  regards  its  adaptability  to  fruit 
growing.  The  vegetation  in  many  cases  is  of  great  significance 
and  in  others  little  or  nothing.  For  example,  our  lands  heavily 
timbered  with  fir  are  apt  to  be  deep,  rich  soils,  adapted  for  fruit 
growing.  One  of  the  best  indications  of  good  fruit  soil  is  the 
presence  of  large,  mature  trees  which  produce  heavy  crops  of  good 
fruit.  You  must  realize,  however,  that  in  some  cases  the  land  is 
very  "spotted"  and  land  in  close  proximity  to  such  orchards  may 
be  very  poor.  An  examination  with  an  auger  would  show  the  char- 
acter of  the  land  on  which  the  orchards  occur  and  thus  one  can  easi- 
ly compare  adjoining  conditions  to  those  under  which  the  orchards 
flourish.  The  absence  of  vigorous  vegetation  or  the  presence  merely 
of  certain  grasses  or  small  scrub  oak,  such  as  are  found  on  southern 
hill  exposures,  are  generally  indications  of  poor  fruit  soil.  The  oak 
tree  taken  as  a  whole  means  little  or  nothing.  I  have  seen  them 
grow  on  very  poor  fruit  land  and  at  other  times  on  very  good  fruit 
land,  so  oak  growth  means  probably  very  little  to  us.  East  of  the 
Cascade  Mts.  where  the  sage  brush  is  strong  and  luxuriant  it  is 
generally  safe  to  conclude  that  the  land  is  good,  as  "Better  the 
sage-brush,  better  the  land,"  is  a  common  saying  of  people  living 
in  such  regions. 

Soils. 

Before  examining  the  soil  you  should  procure  a  soil  auger,  a 
common  carpenter's  or  ship's  auger  can  be  used.     One-half  inch  is 


12  PACIFIC  HORTICULTURAL  CORRESPONDENCE   SCHOOL 

enough,  in  fact  if  a  larger  one  is  used  it  will  be  harder  to  handle 
and  more  than  one  man  will  be  needed.  Have  a  plumber  make 
some  sections  of  gas  pipe,  short  enough  to  be  carried  in  a  suitcase, 
when  disjointed,  and  have  one  of  the  sections  made  into  aT,  so  that 
a  short  bar  can  be  run  through  with  which  to  turn  the  auger.  Have 
the  auger  welded  to  one  of  the  short  sections.  In  using  the  auger 
make  a  boring  of  a  few  inches  and  clean  it,  and  keep  doing  this  un- 
til you  have  a  boring  as  deep  as  necessary.  After  a  little  practice 
with  it  one  will  pick  up  an  enormous  amount  of  knowledge  concern- 
ing the  general  characteristics  of  good  and  poor  soil.  There  are 
several  points  to  be  kept  in  mind: — These  are  drainage,  depth,  fer- 
tility and  general  character. 

Drainage. 

Under  drainage  we  must  consider  both  the  surface  and  the  sub- 
soil drainage.  Our  climatic  conditions  are  such  in  many  parts  of 
the  Pacific  coast  that  one  will  often  find  land  which  is  heavily  water- 
logged in  winter  but  which  is  still  good  fruit  land.  We  do  not  want 
to  have  land  with  too  much  water  in  the  growing  season  when  the 
trees  are  active.  The  surface  drainage  can  generally  be  determined 
with  very  little  trouble.  But  the  sub-surface  drainage  is  a  much 
harder  point  to  get  at.  Many  of  our  lands  are  sub-irrigated  and 
streams  of  water  can  be  found  travelling  in  the  sub-soils.  In  many 
cases  they  are  of  great  value  and  give  the  soil  a  continuous  source 
of  water  supply,  which  means  good  growth  to  the  trees,  but  often 
these  sub-surface  waters  are  too  abundant.  They  often  follow  a 
strata  of  rock  or  clay  and  are  so  cold  that  roots  will  not  succeed  in 
them.  While  at  times  trees  grow  eight  or  nine  years  on  such  soils, 
they  later  show  a  reaction  in  the  form  of  winter  injury  and  kindred 
troubles.  About  the  only  way  to  determine  these  sub-surface 
streams  is  with  auger  borings.  At  times  it  is  very  easy  to  remove 
these  waters  as  they  travel  along  certain  strata,  and  by  proper  tile 
drainage  they  can  be  taken  care  of,  but  on  the  other  hand  they  are 
often  so  abundant  that  the  problem  of  drainage  becomes  so  great  that 
it  would  be  unwise  to  plant  fruit  on  them,  and  crops  which  will  adapt 
themselves  to  the  conditions  should  be  used  in  place  of  fruit.  Cer- 
tain land,  especially  pear  lands,  are  worth  drainage,  but  most  trees, 
like  cherry,  peach  and  prune,  should  not  be  put  on  such  lands,  and 
only  on  a  limited  amount  of  apple  land  does  it  pay  to  drain. 

In  considering  the  subject  of  drainage  we  must  also  consider 


DRAINAGE— DEPTH   OF   SOIL— FERTILITY  13 

seepage  water  from  canals,  irrigation  ditches,  rivers,  etc.  In  many 
of  our  irrigated  districts  the  canals  are  so  constructed  and  the  soil 
is  of  'such  a  character  that  seepage  is  often  abundant  and  such 
waters  are  often  impregnated  with  alkali,  and  sooner  or  later  fruit 
growing  will  have  to  be  abandoned.  Seepage  waters  often  travel 
a  long  way  under  ground  and  then  crop  up,  often  producing  large 
bodies  of  water.  All  things  being  equal,  it  is  better  to  choose  land 
at  the  high  line  ditch  as  the  man  at  the  lower  level  may  get  seepage 
waters  from  all  the  growers  above  him  and  sooner  or  later  will  have 
to  put  in  an  expensive  drainage  system.  Drainage  and  irrigation 
go  hand  in  hand.  While  irrigation  is  very  valuable,  unless  drainage 
is  put  in  the  irrigation  may  prove  to  be  a  boomerang  and  the  region 
may  have  to  be  abandoned  on  account  of  seepage  water. 

Depth  of  Soil. 
The  depth  of  soil  is  a  very  important  factor.  The  question  is 
often  asked  "How  deep  should  the  soil  be?"  It  is  hard  to  answer 
and  is  naturally  relative  to  other  conditions.  Where  irrigation  is 
not  practicable  and  winter  fruit  is  grown  it  is  important  to  have 
deep  soil.  In  regions  without  irrigation  it  should  be  at  least  four 
feet  before  unfavorable  subsoils  are  encountered.  For  walnut  land 
soil  that  is  very  deep  should  be  secured.  It  is  only  by  making  fre- 
quent soundings  with  an  auger  that  the  depth  can  be  determined. 

Fertility. 

Fertility  of  the  soil  is  one  factor  which  most  people  are  apt  to 
•  put  their  entire  stress  on,  and  while  it  is  essential  that  soil  should 
be  fertile  to  be  productive,  on  the  other  hand  we  find  most  of  our 
soils  in  the  northwest  are  fairly  productive.  Many  of  the  soils  east 
of  the  Cascades  are  low  in  nitrogen,  while  those  west  of  the  Range 
often  do  not  contain  as  much  of  this  element  as  is  desirable,  yet, 
fortunately,  we  can  easily  supply  nitrogen  with  leguminous  crops, 
and  there  is  practically  no  fruit  region  which  cannot  grow  some 
leguminous  crop  successfully.  We  often  see  the  influence  of  rich 
fertile  soils  when  we  note  how  productive  the  Bear  Creek  soil  of 
the  Rogue  River  is,  and  that  of  the  Wilhamette  River  bottoms  with 
its  sandy  soils. 

Character  of  the  Soil. 

Soils  vary  considerably  in  their  physical  character.  We  have 
such  as  the  deep  clay  loams,  free  soils,  silt  and  sand  loams,  gravel, 
volcanic  ash,  inimice  stone,  etc.     These  are  often  spoken  of  as  types. 


14  PACIFIC   HORTICULTURAL  CORRESPONDENCE  SCHOOL 

but  as  far  as  adaptability  is  concerned,  the  word  type  means  very 
little.  Often  the  term  "red  hill  land"  is  used,  although  we  find 
many  gradations  of  red  hill  soil,  the  red  characteristic  simply  mean- 
ing that  iron  was  present  in  the  soil  and  has  become  oxidized.  In 
speaking  of  the  general  characteristics  of  soil  we  will  speak  first  of 
surface  soil. 

In  many  of  our  valleys  we  find  adobe  or  sticky  soils.  These 
often  produce  pears  to  very  good  advantage  but  are  very  hard  soils 
to  handle.  They  have  to  be  plowed  and  harrowed  at  just  the  right 
time  or  it  is  almost  impossible  to  get  them  into  good  shape.  It  is 
hard  to  get  them  to  take  hold  of  water  and  hold  it  for  a  long  time, 
and  if  the  water  is  a  little  too  cold  disastrous  results  may  be  ex- 
pected. ,  In  western  Oregon  we  find  the  clay  loams  used  for  apples 
and  pears.  They  are  retentive  of  their  food  and  moisture  and  where 
they  have  good  depth  are  generally  considered  as  on  the  whole  good 
fruit  soils.  Of  course  where  this  soil  contains  so  much  clay  that  it 
borders  on  what  is  known  as  "white  land,"  it  would  not  be  wise  to 
secure  it  for  fruit.  They  are  lands  with  very  poor  drainage  and  if 
one  bears  in  mind  the  drainage  requirements  he  will  not  make  the 
mistake  of  choosing  such  lands.  Occasionally  they  are  very  good 
for  certain  classes  of  fruit  if  properly  drained,  but  in  most  cases 
the  drainage  problem  becomes  big  and  it  means  cooperation  rather 
than  the  drainage  of  the  single  piece  of  land.  Occasionally  the 
strong  clay  loams  are  not  adapted  for  certain  varieties  of  apples. 
They  may  keep  the  trees  growing  too  late  or  cause  the  trees  to  run 
to  vegetative  growth  too  much.  I  will  speak  of  this  under  special 
soils  for  apples.  Free  soils  are  found  abundantly  and  contain  silt, 
sand  and  clay,  are  handled  easily  and  are  often  very  productive. 
These  soils  are  especially  adapted  for  prunes,  cherries  and  similar 
crops.  The  silt  and  sand  loams  are  found  west  of  the  Cascades  a- 
long  the  fertile  river  bottoms  and  where  the  silt  and  sand  is  uniform 
they  are  among  the  most  productive  west  of  the  Cascade  Range. 
They  are  especially  adapted  for  apples  requiring  high  color  like  the 
Spitzenberg  and  are  warm  lands  for  grapes,  peaches  and  red  rasp- 
berries, in  fact,  they  have  the  widest  adaptability  of  any  soil  west 
of  the  Cascades.  These  soils  will  produce  an  enormous  range 
of  fruit.  I  have  seen  apples,  pears,  walnuts,  peaches,  grapes, 
cherries  and  nearly  all  forms  of  truck  and  similar  products  succeed- 
ing on  such  lands.  Many  can  be  irrigated  and  represent  the  ideal 
type  for  small  holdings.      Unfortunately,  many  of  them  have  no 


CHARACTER   OF   THE   SOIL  15 

good  building  sites  as  they  are  subject  to  overflow  but  these  rarely 
do  much  damage  and  often  deposit  layers  of  silt  which  are  fertile 
and  tend  to  keep  the  soil  rich.  The  water  does  not  stay  on  long 
and  although  I  have  seen  it  go  over  the  tops  of  peach  trees,  these 
same  trees  were  loaded  with  fruit  the  following  summer.  The  old 
settlers  of  Oregon  passed  these  up  as  does  the  easterner,  having  in 
mind  the  overflows  of  the  Ohio  and  the  Mississippi,  and  consequently 
these  lands  are  often  neglected.  Occasionally  they  have  a  good 
deal  of  gravel  wash  and  when  it  comes  to  the  surface,  of  course 
they  are  undesirable  for  fruit. 

East  of  the  Cascades  we  find  that  the  soils  run  lighter,  con- 
sisting of  sand,  silt  or  volcanic  ash.  They  are  generally  soils  light 
in  character,  can  be  easily  tilled,  hold  moisture  well  and  are  gen- 
erally rich  in  mineral  plant  food.  They  are  soils  of  very  wide  a- 
daptability,  especially  with  irrigation,  as  with  the  presence  of  irri- 
gation one  can  control  the  moisture  content  very  nicely.  It  is  a 
very  common  sight  on  these  soils  to  see  a  variety  of  crops  growing, 
such  as  grapes,  cherries,  peaches,  apricots,  apples  and  pears,  and 
all  seeming  to  do  fairly  well.  Of  course  they  will  not  all  be  pro- 
duced to  the  highest  degree  of  perfection  since  the  irrigation  of 
the  apple  might  be  entirely  different  from  that  which  the  peach 
needs.  Peaches  should  not  be  irrigated  up  to  about  three  weeks 
before  they  are  picked.  On  the  other  hand  if  this  rule  were 
followed  closely  it  might  prove  a  hardship  on  the  pears  or  apples. 
Some  of  these  light  soils,  particularly  the  volcanic  ash  and  pumice 
soils  and  often  the  silt  loams,  are  at  times  subject  to  blowing.  Pre- 
cautions should  be  taken  in  clearing  land  of  such  a  nature  to  clear 
it  in  such  a  way  that  the  winds  cannot  move  it  before  the  organic 
matter  has  been  incorporated  into  the  soil. 

Closely  associated  with  the  volcanic  ash  are  the  pumice  soils. 
These  are  exceedingly  fine  soils  of  volcanic  origin  and  retentive  of 
moisture.  In  order  to  grow  fruit  they  must  be  irrigated  and  at 
times  it  is  difficult  to  irrigate,  but  under  proper  management  they 
give  very  good  results. 

Oregon  as  a  rule  does  not  have  a  great  deal  of  stony  soil,  this 
is  true  at  least  as  applied  to  most  of  our  valleys.  Soils  which  con- 
tain considerable  floating  rock  or  stones,  with  a  southern  exposure, 
are  often  adapted  for  grape  culture,  and  where  it  is  found  in  our 
valleys  it  is  very  early.  In  parts  of  the  Walla  Walla  Valley  we  find 
such  stony  soils.      They  become  warm  early  in  the  spring  and  tend 


16  PACIFIC   HORTICULTURAL  CORRESPONDENCE  SCHOOL 

to  hold  the  heat  and  are  valued  because  of  their  early  production  of 
small  fruit,  certain  truck  crops,  etc. 

In  parts  of  the  "Inland  Empire"  the  mesa  soils  which  are  so 
typical  of  parts  of  Utah  and  Colorado  are  found.  Before  planting 
such  soils  to  fruit  some  determination  should  be  made  regarding 
their  depth.  They  are  often  underlaid  with  marl,  shale  or  gypsum 
and  it  is  the  general  belief  of  growers  that  such  soils  are  not  well 
adapted  to  fruit. 

At  times  so-called  "sinking  soils"  are  found.  These  soils  settle 
badly  and  if  orchards  are  planted  before  the  land  is  irrigated  and 
handled  several  years,  the  orchard  will  often  be  a  failure,  since  the 
soil  settles  away  from  the  body  of  the  trees  and  leaves  the  roots 
exposed. 

In  choosing  land,  especially  in  the  "Inland  Empire,"  one  should 
constantly  be  on  their  guard  for  the  presence  of  alkali.  At  times 
the  alkalinity  becomes  so  high  that  it  would  be  impossible  to  grow 
most  of  our  fruits  successfully.  It  is  especially  apt  to  be  bad  where 
seepage  water  comes  to  the  surface.  While  it  has  generally  been 
felt  that  lime  stone  has  been  very  valuable  in  the  production  of 
fruit,  nevertheless  the  orchardists  of  the  "Inland  Empire"  seem  to 
think  the  marl  soils  undesirable,  the  trees  not  seeming  to  do  well 
on  such  soils.  The  question  often  comes  up  concerning  the  use  of 
old  land  for  orchard  purposes.  It  is  the  general  belief  of  our  fruit 
growers  that  sage  brush  lands  will  grow  fruits  better  if  they  are 
put  into  some  other  crop  for  a  few  years.  When  first  cleared  they 
are  light  in  character,  contain  very  little  organic  matter  and  humus, 
and  trees  have  difficulty  in  getting  a  good  start,  but  after  a  few 
crops  of  rye,  oats,  vetch,  or  other  grain,  and  after  being  worked 
over  a  few  times,  they  settle,  become  more  compact  and  seem  to 
be  in  a  better  condition  for  the  growing  of  trees. 

As  to  the  advisability  of  planting  trees  on  newly  cleared  timber 
land  there  is  a  difference  of  opinion.  Many  people  have  had  poor 
success  in  putting  trees  out  immediately  after  clearing.  This  is 
probably  true  of  land  which  has  been  in  heavy  fir  or  other  conifer- 
ous types,  if  there  is  very  little  organic  matter  present,  but  if  the 
land  has  been  worked  over  for  a  year  or  two  with  potatoes  or  some 
other  field  crop  the  trees  take  hold  much  better.  However,  un- 
doubtedly the  condition  in  which  the  land  is  found  before  the  trees 
are  planted  and  the  season  in  which  the  trees  are  planted  will  make 
some  difference  as  to  results.     Where  the  land  is  not  put  into  very 


SUB-SOILS  17 

good  shape  until  late  spring  and  the  trees  not  planted  until  that 
season, 'good  results  are  not  to  be  expected.  But  if  the  land  is  put 
in  good  condition  the  preceding  fall  or  winter  and  the  trees  planted 
in  the  spring,  very  good  results  are  often  secured. 

Often  the  question  is  asked  '  'What  is  the  influence  of  light 
versus  heavy  soil  on  fruit  growing?"  In  a  general  way  the  lighter 
loams  tend  to  bring  the  trees  into  bearing  earlier  and  it  often  tends 
to  produce  a  very  good  color,  but  it  is  said  by  many  that  the  fruit 
is  not  as  large  nor  developes  quite  as  good  keeping  qualities  as  fruit 
produced  on  the  heavier  loams.  However,  J  do  not  believe  one  is 
justified  in  making  quite  such  broad  statements  as  it  has  already 
been  shown  that  climatic  conditions  have  a  very  strong  effect  on 
types  of  fruit  which  can  be  grown. 

Sub-Soils. 

Before  leaving  the  matter  of  soils  we  must  take  up  the  matter 
of  sub-soils.  In  very  many  cases  the  sub-soil  is  of  much  more  im- 
portance than  the  surface  soil.  If  one  should  get  soil  four  or  Jive 
feet  deep  in  which  there  is  very  little  change  in  the  soil  to  that  depth 
it  is  desirable.  At  times  one  will  find  hard-pan  clay  close  to  the 
surface.  This  hard  strata  is  sometimes  the  result  of  poor  farm  op- 
erations but  at  times  the  clay  is  so  stiff  that  roots  cannot  work  in 
it. 

Gravel  is  a  form  of  sub-soil  which  has  to  be  watched  for  very 
carefully.  Course  gravel  will  not  hold  moisture  well  and  where  it 
is  close  to  the  surface  it  means  the  soil  is  subject  to  drying  out.  It 
is  also  difficult  to  irrigate  such  soils  successfully.  At  times  this 
gravel,  instead  of  being  loose,  is  cemented  and  so  hard  that  it  can- 
not be  gotten  through  with  a  pick  and  shovel ;  such  sub-stratas  are 
not  desirable.  Rock  is  often  found  and  where  it  is  hard  and  not 
disintegrated  and  comes  fairly  close  to  the  surface  one  cannot  pos- 
sibly hope  to  grow  most  of  our  fruits  successfully.  But  where  it  is 
breaking  down  very  easily  and  can  be  bored  through  with  an  auger, 
trees  may  do  fairly  well.  These  rocks  may  even  be  liberating 
mineral  foods  necessary  for  good  tree  growth. 

The  sandy  loam  sub-soils  are  very  desirable.  They  generally 
mean  good  drainage  and  trees  growing  on  such  soils  often  do  re- 
markably well.  Only  we  must  be  careful  not  to  get  those  which 
are  nearly  all  sand  or  where  the  sand  comes  too  near  the  surface. 
They  will  have  a  tendency  to  dry  out  if  too  much  sand  is  present. 


18  PACIFIC   HORTICULTURAL  CORRESPONDENCE   SCHOOL 

Hints  on  Choosing  Orchards  West  of  the  Cascade  Range. 

In  choosing  an  orchard  in  the  valleys  of  the  Cascade  Mts.  or  in 
the  regions  to  the  westward  there  are  a  few  points  I  want  to  em- 
phasize. 

First  of  all,  one  of  the  most  important  factors  is  the  depth  of 
soil,  as  in  the  greater  part  of  this  region  irrigation  is  not  practiced 
and  neither  will  irrigation  be  necessary  for  the  greater  part  of  it, 
as  with  proper  orchard  management  and  with  depth  of  soil  splendid 
results  can  be  obtained  without  irrigation.  One  will  need  to  note 
the  recommendations  for  frosts  as  to  some  types  of  trees  on  level 
lands  at  the  base  of  hills  where  frosts,  at  times,  are  injurious,  although 
the  greater  part  of  this  region  has  good  air  drainage  and  the  at- 
mospheric conditions  are  such  that  frost  damage  as  a  rule  is  not 
serious. 

The  stronger  clay  loams  of  this  region  are  especially  adapted 
for  pears  and  the  lighter  clay  loams  and  free  soils  are  splendid  for 
apples  while  the  red  hill  lands  and  the  hghter  types  of  hill  lands 
are  adapted  especially  for  prunes  and  cherries.  On  some  of  the 
southern  exposures  grapes  will  grow  well,  especially  the  American 
varieties.  In  parts  of  southern  Oregon,  in  Jackson  and  Josephine 
Counties,  Vinefera,  types  like  Muscat,  Tokay  and  Malaga  will  suc- 
ceed, especially  where  the  hills  have  the  warm,  southern  exposure, 
are  not  subject  to  frosts  and  where  cold  winds  and  fogs  are  not  a 
problem.  In  this  region  too,  peaches  do  well  on  the  river  bottoms 
especially  and  on  some  of  the  red  shot  hills.  The  sand  and  silt  loams 
along  the  river  bottoms  of  this  region  are  noted  for  their  fertility 
and  wide  adaptability. 

Points  to  Observe  in  Choosing  an  Orchard  in  the 
"Inland  Empire." 

Where  irrigation  is  not  practiced  in  this  region  great  depth  is 
to  be  desired.  V/here  irrigation  is  practiced  extreme  depth  is  not 
so  necessary  although  it  is  highly  desirable.  In  many  regions  one 
should  look  into  the  possibility  of  frost.  Frost  damage  will  become 
less  and  less  as  time  goes  on  and  as  irrigation  increases  it  means 
proper  moisture  conditions  which  will  make  frost  damage  less  se- 
vere. Seepage  waters  become  troublesome  at  times,  especially  in 
irrigated  districts.  Good  deep  soils,  which  have  a  heavy  growth  of 
sage-brush  will  generally  give  good  results.    These  are  usually  high- 


SPECIAL   CROP   REQUIREMENTS  19 

ly  productive,  bring  the  trees  into  bearing  early  and  make  very  de- 
sirable fruit  locations. 


SPECIAL  CROP  REQUIREMENTS. 

The  Apple. 

In  producing  apples,  especially  winter  apples,  we  have  to 
bear  in  mind  that  we  are  growing  trees  which  will  become  long- 
lived,  drawing  heavily  on  the  soil  for  both  food  and  moisture  and 
successful  apple  culture  means  that  we  must  fulfill  its  requirements. 
Prunes,  peaches  and  cherries  and  similar  fruits  are  not  so  exacting 
regarding  moisture  conditions  and  often  are  not  so  exacting  regard- 
ing the  soil,  as  is  the  apple.  We  are  growing  so  many  commercial 
varieties  of  apples  that  we  must  look  very  closely  into  the  condition 
which  each  variety  requires  and  this  will  mean  close  study  of  cli- 
matic conditions,  elevations,  exposures,  and  soil,  all  taken  together, 
to  make  up  the  requirements  of  the  individual  variety. 

The  Spitzenberg,  for  example,  seems  to  be  the  most  popular 
apple  of  the  Northwest,  yet  there  are  relatively  few  regions  where 
this  apple  will  do  well.  If  planted  at  too  high  an  altitude,  say  that 
above  1500  feet,  it  becomes  a  shy  bearer,  is  very  subject  to  winter 
injury  and  what  fruit  it  does  produce  is  often  of  poor  color.  It  is  a 
variety  that  is  very  tender  and  subject  to  all  the  afflictions  a  tree  is 
heir  to.  If  it  is  on  a  very  Hght,  dry  soil  it  will  generally  hear  fairly 
abundantly  provided  the  altitude  is  not  too  high  but  the  fruit  will 
seldom  be  bright  in  color.  If  on  the  other  hand  it  is  grown  on 
deep,  rich  moist  loam,  there  is  a  tendency  to  run  strongly  to  wood 
growth.  Where  one  has  a  soil  of  good  fertility,  a  fair  moisture  con- 
dition, a  warm  southern  exposure  and  not  too  high  an  altitude,  the 
Spitzenberg  will  do  well. 

The  Gano  will  often  flourish  on  locations  where  the  Spitzenberg 
would  be  a  failure,  so  much  more  money  would  be  realized  in  plant- 
ing the  Gano,  succeeding  on  lighter  loams  and  higher  altitudes  than 
Spitzenberg. 

If  the  growing  season  terminates  abruptly  we  find  that  nearly 
all  apples  tend  to  be  shy  bearers.  Winter  injury  is  apt  to  result 
and  what  growth  the  tree  does  make  is  apt  to  be  vegetative  rather 
than  fruit  production. 

The  Northern  Spy  is  an  apple  which  requires  very  careful  at- 


20  PACIFIC   HORTICULTURAL   CORRESPONDENCE  SCHOOL 

tention.  At  high  altitudes  it  is  very  shy  in  bearing  well;  on  low 
altitudes  it  often  grows  soft  and  large  and  is  a  poor  keeper  and  its 
quality  under  such  conditions  is  very  poor.  On  some  of  the  lighter 
clay  loams  west  of  the  Cascades  the  Northern  Spy  seems  to  do  very 
well. 

The  Yellow  Newtown  seems  to  be  especially  adapted  for  such 
regions  as  the  valleys  of  the  Cascade  Range  and  those  to  the  west 
as  the  Hood  River,  the  Willamette  valley  and  the  southern  Oregon 
districts  for  example  and  while  it  does  well  in  some  of  the  inland 
valley  regions  of  the  "Inland  Empire"  in  many  of  these  regions  it 
matures  too  early.  It  is  not  an  apple  which  is  adapted  to  high  alti- 
tudes, there  it  becomes  woody  and  dry  and  small  and  of  generally 
poor  quality.  When  the  Yellow  Newtowns  are  planted  on  very 
rich,  heavy  soils,  especially  if  careful  pruning  is  not  practiced,  they 
will  run  to  wood  and  often  will  not  bear  for  12  or  15  years. 

The  Rome  Beauty  is  becoming  a  very  popular  apple  in  the  north- 
west and  is  showing  itself  to  be  adapted  to  an  enormous  range  of 
territory.  They  do  well  in  some  of  the  "Inland  Empire"  valleys 
and  also  in  western  Oregon  and  Washington.  Under  proper  con- 
ditions it  tends  to  be  a  good  bearer.  Like  the  Spitzenberg  it  is 
tender  under  certain  conditions,  especially  where  there  is  an  abrupt 
termination  between  the  fall  and  winter  weather.  Where  the  grow- 
ing season  tends  to  be  short  it  is  not  well  to  plant  such  varieties  as 
the  Yellow  Newtown  and  the  Winesap  as  neither  one  does  well. 

The  Ben  Davis  is  an  apple  of  rather  wide  adaptabihty,  but 
when  planted  at  rather  high  altitudes,  2000  ft.  and  better,  it  often 
becomes  very  corky  and  dry. 

The  Wagener  seems  to  be  an  apple  of  very  wide  range.  If  we 
could  justly  say  there  is  a  single  variety  having  very  little  limitations 
in  the  northwest  it  would  be  the  Wagener.  It  is  found  succeeding 
not  only  west  of  the  Cascades  but  also  in  the  region  to  the  east  of 
them.  It  does  well  on  a  wide  variety  of  soils  and  under  widely 
varying  climatic  conditions. 

Where  extreme  drouth  is  experienced  and  winter  hardship  is 
extreme  there  is  nothing  which  will  do  better  than  the  Russian 
apples,  the  Duchess,  Wolf  River  and  Wealthy  being  included  in 
this  class.  The  York  Imperial  and  Mcintosh  Red  also  succeed 
well  under  such  conditions  the  Mcintosh  Red  being  of  very  fine 
quality  if  properly  grown.  The  King  of  Tompkins  County,  Rome 
Beauty  and  Hyde  King  also  flourish  under  such  conditions.      The 


APPLES— PEARS  21 

Gravenstein  should  also  be  tried  more  extensively  on  high  altitudes 
of  limited  rainfall.  The  Red  Cheek  Pippin  should  be  planted  more 
west  of  the  Cascades  than  it  is  at  the  present  time.  It  does  not 
bring  the  highest  prices  but  does  well  on  our  clay  loams,  tends  to 
bear  annually  and  is  well  known  in  a  certain  trade. 

Apples  like  the  Winter  Banana  and  Delicious  do  not  do  very 
well  on  the  low  altitudes;  they  tend  to  mature  too  early  and  become 
very  mealy  and  poor  keepers.  On  some  of  the  higher  altitudes 
they  have  a  better  texture  and  form,  have  a  more  attractive  color 
and  are  better  keepers. 

In  some  of  the  valleys  such  as  are  found  in  the  '  'Inland  Em- 
pire,"  it  is  hard  to  beat  the  Winesap,  Jonathan  and  Rome  Beauty, 
while  in  some  cases  the  Spitzenberg  does  very  nicely.  The  Arkan- 
sas Black  does  very  well  here  sometimes.  Occasionally  the  Spitzen- 
berg matures  too  early  and  apples  like  the  Mclintosh  Red  become 
late  summer  or  fall  apples  instead  of  winter  apples. 

Where  the  seasons  are  especially  short,  summer  and  fall  varie- 
ties should  be  planted  and  all  winter  varieties  abandoned. 

Pears. 

The  Pacific  Northwest  should  he  the  leading  pear  region  of  the 
United  States. 

The  Rogue  River  Valley  in  southern  Oregon  is  especially  world 
noted  as  producing  pears  of  wonderful  quality  and  fine  shipping 
character. 

Pears,  while  perhaps  not  succeeding  on  as  high  altitudes  as 
apples,  will  nevertheless,  within  their  range,  stand  more  hardship 
than  apples.  They  will  stand  more  alkali  than  most  other  fruits. 
As  far  as  soil  is  concerned,  they  have  a  wide  range  being  grown  on 
the  heaviest  soil  on  the  one  hand  to  the  lightest  loams  on  the  other. 
The  best  regions  to  grow  pears  is  where  there  is  a  long  growing 
season  of  not  too  warm  weather,  where  the  winter  conditions  do 
not  come  on  too  abruptly  and  where  the  rainfall  and  moisture  is 
such  that  a  slow  gradual  growth  of  tree  can  be  produced.  Pears 
are  more  adapted  to  the  regions  west  than  to  those  east  of  the  Cas- 
cade Mts.  and  to  those  regions  having  at  least  20  inches  rainfall 
than  to  other  localities. 

The  Bartlett  is  a  pear  of  wide  adaptability  and  can  be  grown  on 
the  heaviest  to  the  lightest  of  soils.  This  is  also  true  of  the  Comice 
and  Howell.      The  d'Anjou  and  Bosc  seem  to  do  especially  well  on 


22  PACIFIC  HORTICULTURAL  CORRESPONDENCE  SCHOOL 

the  heavier  soils  while  the  Winter  Nelis  should  only  be  planted  on 
deep,  rich  loams,  as  this  variety,  unless  it  has  plenty  of  moisture 
and  food  becomes  small.  The  Cornice  should  not  be  grown  where 
it  tends  to  russet  very  much.  It  does  well  in  southern  Oregon. 
The  Bosc,  Winter  Nelis  and  Glou  Morceau  do  well  in  climatic  con- 
ditions like  those  of  the  Williamette  Valley,  while  the  Rogue  River 
Valley  is  growing  a  wide  range  of  varieties,  the  Bartlett,  d'Anjou 
and  Winter  Nelis,  Comice,  Bosc  and  Howell  are  all  succeeding. 

Of  all  pears  grown  the  Bartlett  is  found  growing  over  the 
widest  range,  but  undoudtedly  more  varieties  of  pears  should  be 
tried  than  we  have  grown  up  to  the  present  time. 

Cherries. 

Cherries  do  best'on  well  drained,  light  loams.  The  soil,  how- 
ever, should  not  be  so  light  and  warm  as  to  cause  premature  growth 
in  the  spring.  Where  they  are  planted  on  heavy  clay  loams  they 
seem  to  run  to  wood  very  largely  and  are  also  more  subject  to  cer- 
tain diseases  than  when  planted  on  better  drained,  warmer  loams. 
The  sweet  cherry  especially  will  not  stand  much  winter  freezing 
and  regions  of  high  altitude  and  extreme  freezing  should  be  planted 
to  sour  cherries  and  the  Duke  types. 

The  Vilna  Sweet  will  stand  considerable  hardship  while  the 
Bing  does  especially  well  in  eastern  Oregon.  Often  it  thrives  as 
high  as  3000  ft.  east  of  the  Cascades,  while  in  our  valleys  the  Royal 
Ann  and  the  Lambert  are  the  two  great  leaders.  Some  of  the  in- 
land valleys  are  also  producing  cherries  very  successfully,  the  great- 
est trouble  at  times  being  winter  injury. 

In  the  valleys  west  of  the  Cascades  the  cherry  is  often  found 
to  be  very  extensive.  Here  they  grow  to  enormous  size,  luscious 
and  juicy.  Enormous  canning  industries  will  be  developed  while 
many  of  them  are  shipped  green.  The  Pacific  northwest  can  pro- 
duce sweet  cherries  unexcelled.  Unfortunately  the  Royal  Ann,  a 
large,  fancy  flesh  colored  cherry,  does  not  stand  rain  well  while 
ripening  and  under  such  conditions  cracks  badly.  If  conditions 
could  be  found  where  this  cherry  could  mature  and  not  be  subject 
to  such  cracking  and  yet  keep  its  size  and  other  characteristics  it 
would  be  very  valuable  to  the  state. 

Peaches. 
Peaches  as  a  rule  like  a  warm  soil.      We  have  them  growing 


APRICOTS,   ALMONDS  AND  PRUNES  23 

well  in  such  valleys  as  the  Wenatchee,  North  Yakima  and  the  valleys 
along  the  Snake  and  in  southern  Oregon  in  the  regions  adjacent  to 
Ashland  and  Merlin,  while  in  the  Willamette  Valley  they  succeed 
on  the  sandy  river  bottoms  on  the  one  hand  and  on  the  red  shot  hill 
lands  on  the  other.  Peaches  are  very  susceptible  to  frost  and  the 
trees  will  not  stand  very  much  dry  freezing.  When  planted  on  the 
heavy  loams  they  make  good  vegetative  growth  but  as  a  rule  are 
not  fruitful. 

Apricots. 

The  apricot  is  closely  associated  with  the  peach  and  in  many 
respects  is  a  hardier  tree  but  blooms  so  early  it  is  caught  by  the 
frost.  In  such  regions  as  The  Dalles  and  some  places  in  southern 
Oregon  and  regions  along  the  Columbia  and  the  Snake,  locations  can 
be  found  which  are  frost  proof.  This  fruit  brings  splendid  returns 
and  more  should  be  grown.  There  is  a  very  strong  demand  for  apri- 
cots for  canning  purposes. 

Almonds. 

Almonds  are  closely  related  with  both  the  peach  and  the  apri- 
cot. It  is  a  fairly  hardy  tree  and  will  stand  better  drouth  conditions 
than  either  the  peach  or  apricot  provided  the  soil  is  deep.  It  is  a 
deep  rooted  tree  and  does  well  where  the  soil  is  deep.  The  one 
great  drawback  with  it  is  its  early  blooming  and  consequent  loss 
from  frost  injury.  Where  regions  can  be  found  not  subject  to  frost 
almond  growing  becomes  very  profitable. 

Prunes. 

Most  of  the  prunes  are  grown  west  of  the  Cascade  Range. 
They  grow  on  sandy  river  loams  to  red  hill  lands  and  seem  to  do 
well  on  all  soils  except  those  which  are  heavy  and  poorly  drained. 
On  the  lighter  loams  they  are  generally  put  on  peach  roots  while  on 
some  of  the  heavier  soils  they  are  propagated  on  plum  roots.  In 
the  region  west  of  the  Cascades  they  are  grown  almost  entirely  for 
evaporating  purposes  except  those  years  when  the  eastern  crops  of 
prunes  and  peaches  are  very  light  when  many  are  shipped  green. 
The  prune  shows  signs  of  becoming  one  of  the  greatest  industries  on 
the  Pacific  coast.  As  prunes  bloom  early  they  suffer  consequently 
at  times  from  frost  and  also  from  long,  cold  rainy  spells  in  the 
spring  which  are  not  favorable  to  their  blossom  development. 


24  PACIFIC  HORTICULTURAL  CORRESPONDENCE  SCHOOL 

In  the  "Inland  Empire"  and  in  many  valleys  of  the  Columbia 
and  the  Snake  prunes  are  grown  for  shipping  green  and  under  proper 
conditions  become  a  very  profitable  crop. 

The  principal  prune  grown  is  the  Italian;  where  not  over-irri- 
gated they  produce  a  good  firm  shipping  product  of  good  quality. 

Grapes. 

There  are  only  limited  regions  in  which  grapes  can  be  grown 
successfully.  The  American  grapes  like  the  Concord,  Niagara, 
Delaware,  Brighton  and  Worden  are  hardy  for  most  parts  of  the 
northwest  and  do  exceedingly  well  where  they  are  protected  from 
cold  winds.  They  prefer  the  sunny  exposures  on  our  hillsides,  al- 
though some  of  the  sandy  river  bottoms  produce  very  good  grapes. 

The  European  varieties,  the  Vinifera  or  California  grapes  suc- 
ceed along  the  Columbia  and  Snake.  At  The  Dalles  for  example, 
they  are  found  growing  well.  In  many  regions  of  the  "Inland 
Empire' '  with  winter  protection  they  have  grown  successfully.  In 
parts  of  southern  Oregon  they  are  doing  especially  well  without 
winter  protection. 

In  conclusion  I  wish  to  encourage  our  fruit  growers  as  much  as 
possible  to  make  some  careful  studies  concerning  variety  adapta- 
bility. If  possible,  get  a  maximum  and  minimum  thermometer  and 
keep  records  of  the  length  of  your  growing  season  and  of  your  rain- 
fall. 

Prof.  C.  I.  Lewis,  of  the  Division  of  Horticulture  of  the  Oregon 
Agricultural  College  would  appreciate  very  much  to  see  any  such 
data  as  the  fruit  growers  could  send  him  and  it  will  assist  us  very 
materially  in  securing  data  which  is  so  hard  to  obtain. 

In  determining  whether  or  not  a  variety  succeeds  in  your  region 
do  not  base  your  opinion  on  the  very  best  specimens  you  can  find 
because  the  amount  of  money  you  will  make  out  of  any  good  va- 
riety is  going  to  depend  on  the  average  fruit  the  tree  produces  and 
not  upon  what  a  few  fine  specimens  will  bring.  If  the  average 
fruit  of  a  variety  comes  up  to  good  market  requirements  you  can 
justly  draw  the  conclusion  that  the  variety  will  succeed. 


